Are You a Good Scientist?
This resource is intended to act as a stimulus for teaching about science.
It consists of a poster and set of questions which will highlight safe and ethical approaches to scientific work. It is hoped that this resource will be useful in preparing students for courses where there is a focus on understanding the processes of science, such as the new GCSEs, but it may also be useful in helping students understand the importance of behaving ethically in terms of their own work.
The idea arose as part of work that was done in developing a Code of Conduct for members of the Institute of Physics. You might find the code itself useful for extension work:
- For younger students this might be a starter for writing an agreed Code of Conduct for their work in school science
- For older students you could ask groups of students to take each of the statements and explain why they think it was included
The Resources
- A poster ‘Are You a Good Scientist?’ that could be a useful contrast to some of the safety posters that are used with younger students. A black and white version (PDF, 4.33 MB) intended for photocopying and a colour version (PDF, 14 MB) for display
- A student questionnaire (PDF, 856 KB) which is intended for photocopying
- A Word version of the questionnaire (Word, 27 MB) that can be edited
- A mark sheet for students (PDF, 45 KB)
- Teachers’ notes (PDF, 152 KB) with a commentary on the answers to the questions and the Institute of Physics Code of Conduct. Please note that for some questions there may not be a right or a wrong answer – the intention is to generate useful discussion
- A PowerPoint of the questions (5.24 MB) which may make it easier to promote discussion
Acknowledgements
The questions and answers were written by Janet Taylor and Ralph Edney did the illustrations.
Further Links
- The Institute is working with the University of Bristol to develop a series of resources on Physics and Ethics
Visit the website - The American Physical Society has produced some useful case studies on Physics and ethical behaviour
Visit the website
Sense about Science have developed a peer review education resource for Key Stage 4 science teachers. The resource explains:
- How scientific research results are selected for publication
- The challenges the system encounters
- The role of critical scrutiny in driving scientific knowledge forward